The Wildcats broke a three-game losing streak by beating DePaul in Chicago.
It doesn’t need to be pretty, Villanova will take the wins however it can get them. The Wildcats put an end to a three-game losing streak with a 59-49 win at DePaul on Wednesday night.
The ‘Cats had been pummeled since their upset win over UConn on Jan. 8, losing five of their last six entering their road trip to Chicago.
Jordan Longino led the Wildcats with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Eric Dixon had 14 points and shot 4-of-14. Wooga Poplar added 12 points and six rebounds.
Villanova led for a majority of the game, but neither team truly found their footing in the first half. It was a low-scoring start and even though the Wildcats were ahead, the Blue Demons stayed within reach and it was a one-possession game for the entirety of the first half.
The Wildcats took a 29-26 lead into the break.
Villanova cut down on turnovers in the second half, and it started to make baskets down the stretch to pull away.
DePaul continued to struggle shooting, and Villanova slowly started gaining separation.
An and-one by DePaul’s C.J. Gunn trimmed the Wildcats’ lead down to 51-45 with 5:51 remaining in the game. Villanova got back-to-back threes by Jordan Longino and Eric Dixon to push the lead into double figures.
DePaul got a basket back, but then Longino got a layup to drop for the basket’s final game with 3:08 left.
The Wildcats held the Blue Demons to 3-of-13 shooting over the final 7:50 of action.
David Thomas led the Blue Demons with 16 points off the bench. he shot 4-for-10 from deep and was the only one who had any sort of rhythm from long range. DePaul finished the game shooting just 20-of-65 (30.8%) overall and an ugly 7-for-36 (19.4%) from deep.
Villanova improved to 13-10 overall and 6-6 in Big East action. The Wildcats also got their first road win since defeating Butler on Jan. 1. Next up for them is a return trip home and their next Wells Fargo Center game of the season. They will host Xavier on Sunday, 12 p.m. ET.